Chapter Twelve: Humiliation at the Gate

  Leaving his residence, Wang Ke didn't rush to the Merit Hall. He had already memorized the route and was familiar with it. The Qingmu Sect was like a paradise on earth. For the past month, Wang Ke had been busy cultivating and hadn't had time to appreciate its beauty. Now that he had the chance, he naturally wanted to take his time to enjoy it.

  "These are the Rainbow Chrysanthemum, Cloudy Orchid, Golden Scale Wisteria, and the Millennium Lonely Tree..." Along the way, Wang Ke saw many rare and unusual plants, many of which only existed in ancient books and had long been extinct in the mortal world.

  "This ginseng is probably over a hundred years old, if taken to the county town it would definitely sell for a good price." Looking at a wild ginseng growing by the roadside, Wang Ke shook his head and thought to himself.

  It's no wonder that the Immortal Realm and the Mortal Realm have such a huge difference, there are so many things here that would be priceless treasures in the Mortal Realm, no wonder so many people yearn to cultivate immortality.

  "Bang bang......" Just as Wang Ke was moving forward while browsing the scenery between the mountains, a faint sound of fighting came from afar in front.

  It's not far from Gongde Temple, and it's close to the direction of Qinglong Peak.

  The shouting in front attracted Wang Ke's attention, and he looked over to see a small platform on the distant mountain waist, where many young monks had gathered, including two young monks who were currently engaged in a fierce battle in the center of the platform.

  Only two flying swords were seen to be exceptionally agile, flying up and down, the sword light flashing, occasionally colliding in mid-air, rubbing out sparks, like two flying snakes entwining in mid-air, occasionally emitting a humming sound, looking inseparable.

  "Good, good, Yu Zheng's swordsmanship is getting more and more refined."

  "Autumn Leaf Shixiong is actually evenly matched with Yu Zheng Shixiong, his swordsmanship is quite formidable."

  "That's natural, both of you are outstanding among many fellow disciples and will soon become core disciples."

  The young people around him kept cheering, Wang Ke was attracted by the duel on that side and walked over slowly, standing in a corner beside, his eyes first swept across the platform, then focused on the two dueling youths in the center.

  It was only then that I discovered the young people around me were all wearing uniform cyan robes, with a small cyan dragon embroidered on their chest. The little dragons coiled together, their heads held high, vivid and lifelike.

  "So these are all fellow disciples of Qinglong Peak, and the two brothers in the middle are really powerful!" Wang Ke's heart moved slightly. From their attire, he could tell that they were all disciples of Qinglong Peak. Most of these fellow disciples had cultivation levels above mid-Nascent Soul stage, and the two battling brothers had even reached late Nascent Soul stage, with extremely strong spiritual power fluctuations.

  Wang Ke's gaze focused on the two young men in the center, one of whom was tall and majestic, with a strong face and sharp eyebrows that were slightly raised, his eyes gleaming like electricity, his long hair flowing behind him, his hand grasping a sword hilt, his feet moving nimbly, completely concealing the fact that someone with such a large build could have such agile footwork.

  His opponent was a slender and handsome young man, with starry eyes, sword eyebrows, and a face like jade. At this time, he was focused, pinching the sword's key, and beside him, a cyan flying sword was dancing in the air. The young man occasionally changed his position to dodge the other party's attack.

  Wang Ke stood by and watched for a while, deeply attracted to the two people's sword techniques. Although he had a copy of "Hua Jian Jue" in his bag, it was impossible to practice without reaching the middle stage of Na Qi, and "Na Qi Jue" was also quite profound. Wang Ke studied it for a while but didn't get much out of it, so he could only give up.

  Watching the two people's intense sword fight in front of him, Wang Ke suddenly felt a flame burning in his chest, wishing he could also wield a sword like them immediately.

  They watched for half a day, with the two in the middle being evenly matched. Suddenly, both of them let out a loud shout and quickly retreated backwards. Then they made a hand seal, and the flying swords in front of them flew back to their owners. After circling around the two men several times, they charged out again.

  The flying sword that rushed out suddenly burst into a brilliant light in the air, and the two flying swords transformed at the same time, transforming into four identical flying swords, shooting forward, the flying sword rubbing against the air emitted an ear-piercing sonic boom.

  Eight flying swords stirred up fragments of sword light in the air, chaotic spiritual energy burst out, and sharp sword auras shot out one after another. The ground was instantly pierced by the sword auras, creating several sword holes and leaving behind some intersecting sword marks. Then, the eight sword lights split apart, each flying back on its own. A cyan light flashed, and they transformed into two swords once again, flying back to be grasped in the hands of the two young men.

  As the two put away their swords, they stood still, and the young people around them applauded and cheered. The two in the arena were calm and composed, but there was a hint of arrogance in their eyes, with a somewhat complacent look.

  Wang Ke watched the two men's wonderful sword fight and couldn't help but applaud, their strength was impressive, deeply admired by Wang Ke. As a newcomer to the Xiuzhen world, the power of these two young people far surpassed his own.

  Wang Ke wore a black long gown, which was completely different from the people of Qinglong Peak. On this platform, he looked a bit out of place. At this moment, he spoke up and instantly attracted many gazes. Just now, everyone's attention had been drawn to the central sword fight, and only now did they notice Wang Ke's existence.

  "What are you doing here?" A slightly chubby young man with raised eyebrows shouted loudly from a distance not far from Wang Ke.

  "Hmm, a disciple of Xuanwu Peak, but still in the early stages of Qi absorption. How unusual." Another short and stout young man beside him glanced at Wang Ke's attire, then looked at his waist token, and said with some surprise.

  "Hmph, what's the big deal? Aren't the people of Xuanwu Peak all useless anyway? What's there to be surprised about in the early stages of Nascent Soul?" A disdainful voice followed.

  "Little kid, you're here to sneak a peek at us practicing swordplay, thinking of stealing our techniques, huh?" The tall and robust young man who had been competing in the sword fight earlier walked up, his piercing gaze sweeping across Wang Ke's body as he spoke coldly.

  "Yu Zheng, this kid must be here to steal our sword techniques, we can't just let him off like that."

  "Yes, dare to steal sword moves, must let him know the severity" The other young men beside him also shouted loudly, their eyes looking at Wang Ke were filled with disdain.

  "No, senior brother, I just happened to pass by here and didn't come to steal sword moves." Seeing these furious cultivators, Wang Ke's heart was angry, but he still waved his hand repeatedly to explain.

  "Look at you, a disciple of Xuanwu Peak, yet you've fallen to the point of sneaking around to learn sword techniques. Your Xuanwu Peak is truly in decline." The other handsome young man with a slender build walked over slowly and said calmly.

  "I said I didn't secretly learn sword moves" Wang Ke stared at the young man, his expression somewhat agitated.

  However, the handsome young man's face sank, and he said coldly: "I say you steal sword moves, you just steal sword moves. Since you want to steal sword moves, let's be kind and teach you." The handsome young man put on a sly smile and winked at the tall and strong young man beside him.

  Then two sword lights rose from the sides of the two, "swish swish" shooting towards Wang Ke. Seeing the two sword lights rushing towards him, Wang Ke's face changed greatly. The sword light had not yet arrived, but the oppressive sword energy had already made Wang Ke's cheeks ache.

  Just as the two sword lights were about to reach him, Wang Ke had no choice but to dodge to the side. However, just as he was stepping out with his right foot, a pebble suddenly flew in from somewhere and hit the back of his right foot. The pebble contained immense power, causing Wang Ke to grunt in pain, feeling an intense ache spreading from the back of his foot.

  He stumbled and fell forward, landing with a thud on the ground, looking extremely disheveled. At this moment, he heard mocking voices around him: "As expected of someone from Xuanwu Peak, look at him lying on the ground now."

  "Haha... you're right, this is what it means to be a good disciple of Xuanwu Peak!" The mocking voices were like sharp knives piercing into Wang Ke's heart, giving him a heart-wrenching feeling.

  He slightly raised his head, and the images of these people were imprinted in Wang Ke's mind. Although he was furious at this time, he had no choice but to helplessly watch as his own strength was insufficient, not even enough to resist. At the same time, a sharp whistling sound pierced through the air, and two sword auras came attacking once again.

  Wang Ke hastily jumped up, the pain in his feet not yet gone, his movements somewhat slow, trying to dodge the flying sword. However, this flying sword was exceptionally agile and fast, Wang Ke barely dodged it each time, but You Zheng and Akira just sneered repeatedly.

  Two people suddenly pinched their right hands, the flying sword suddenly accelerated, and surrounded Wang Ke to rotate. Wang Ke was caught off guard for a moment, his clothes were cut one after another, and pieces of clothing flew out.

  While dodging the flying sword, Wang Ke's heart was anxious, and suddenly his eyes caught Yu Zheng and Akira's expressions, seeing the sarcasm on their faces, Wang Ke instantly understood.

  "Alright, these two are deliberately teasing and bullying!" Wang Ke's heart was burning with anger, but in his ear, he heard Yu Zheng's disdainful voice: "Kid, quickly bring out your Xuanwu Peak's ultimate skill, let us see it and learn from it."

  "Right, I suppose all you have at Xuanwu Peak is the Downward-facing Absolute Skill? We can't learn that." Autumn Leaf sneered from the side.

  The monks around Qinglong Peak all had sarcastic expressions, looking at the disheveled Wang Ke, constantly uttering unpleasant words, all with a schadenfreude expression.

  "You two are scoundrels, taking advantage of the weak and bullying them! What kind of heroes are you?!" Wang Ke finally couldn't hold back his anger and cursed out loud, even a clay figure has a bit of a temper.

  "Hmph, you little brat, let me tell you what a real hero is!" Unexpectedly, Wang Ke still dared to insult someone, Yu Zheng let out a cold snort and suddenly disappeared from the spot.

  Then, a figure flashed in front of Wang Ke, and Yu Zheng suddenly appeared in front of him. Wang Ke didn't even see how Yu Zheng appeared, and then a sharp pain suddenly came from his abdomen, and a powerful force sent Wang Ke flying out.

  "Bang" flew out several feet before falling to the ground, at this time Wang Ke felt that his internal organs seemed to have been torn apart, even breathing was a bit difficult, and his face turned pale as paper in an instant. He struggled to get up, but the black shadow in front of him flashed again, and Yu Zheng flashed to Wang Ke's side, his right foot heavily trampling on Wang Ke's chest, pinning Wang Ke to the ground.

  Wang Ke struggled to get up, but at this time his body felt like it was being pressed down by a huge mountain, and he couldn't move at all.

  "Now you know what a hero is, let me tell you, whoever has the harder fist is the hero" Yu Zheng looked down at Wang Ke with disdain, his face full of arrogance, and swung his fist in a showy manner.

  "Haha, the Xuanwu Peak actually produced such a young whippersnapper, who dares to be so presumptuous. It's truly a case of getting what he deserves." A voice filled with schadenfreude came from not far away, and the people around also had mocking expressions on their faces, without any sympathy at all.

  "Huh, the kid doesn't even have a storage bag, what's he carrying on his back? Let me see." Yu Zheng suddenly noticed the black bundle on Wang Ke's back and bent down to forcibly remove it from him.

  "Give it back, give it back, you bastard! Let go!" Wang Ke struggled with all his might, no longer caring about the severe pain all over his body. This black bundle contained everything he had, and while other things didn't matter, that treasure box absolutely could not fall into someone else's hands.

  However, despite Wang Ke's best efforts, he couldn't break free and could only watch as Yu Zheng took the package away. Yu Zheng glanced at Wang Ke with disdain, then opened the package to reveal a few ordinary books inside, which didn't interest him in the least. But the black box inside did catch his eye.

  He picked up the box with his hand, then threw the package aside, and the books inside fell out, but he didn't care, instead slowly opening the box, and suddenly a burst of spiritual energy spread out from inside the box. Inside the box was a crystal stone.

  "Hehe, good luck, consider these spirit stones as your filial gift to me," Yu Zheng said with a pleased smile, then closed the box and was about to put it away.

  "Give me back my stuff, you bastard!" Seeing Wang Zheng about to put the box away, Wang Ke's heart was extremely anxious, but at this time he had no idea what to do. The difference in strength was too great, and it was impossible to escape from under his opponent's feet, let alone get the things back.

  Just as Wang Ke was about to give up in despair, a soft and melodious voice came from the air, "Return his belongings!" The sound was like pearls falling onto a jade plate, extremely pleasant yet filled with a hint of indifference.

  As the sound was heard, everyone around looked up at the sky, and Wang Ke on the ground also raised his head to look over. In the distance, a white sword light shot out from the air, arriving above the crowd in an instant. A moving figure stood on the sword, like a fairy from the ninth heaven, emitting a clear and elegant aura.